The slab is in!

It is hard to believe, looking at the concrete slab, how much work has gone into getting the project to this stage.

The initial setup was done, and once all  the string lines were set out the lower corner of the floor seemed to be so elevated it was difficult to get everything in perspective. The fall of the block seemed to create an optical illusion. However, it was a case of wait and see as the preparations continued.

The retaining wall - very important given the hill we're on.

Sending in the reinforcements

To quote an old saying “a picture tells a thousand words” and as you can see from the pictures below, an awful lot of progress has been made over the past few weeks. One thing we are quite certain of; given the reinforcing and the concrete that has gone into the building so far, is that it definitely won't be sliding down the hill any time soon.

After the retaining wall was erected and solid filled with concrete there was a delay of a couple of weeks to allow this to harden up, then the pads were formed in preparation for the concrete. Really, it looked more like an archaeological dig site than a residential house. Then, to top this off it was all then sealed with a polythene membrane. Quite an impressive piece of work all round.

What's next?

Forty five cubic metres of concrete later, the slab is down! This will stay pretty much this way until after Christmas, and it will then be full steam ahead with the brickwork and the erection of the beams and columns for the steel subfloor.

The builder has promised to erect the scaffolding before Christmas, which will allow us to stand up there and take in the view we have dreamed of for the past two years.

Foundation pads - these help establish the 'channels' for the slab.

With the membrane over the top of the foundation pads.

The finished slab - next stop, steel sub-floor.